Probation services in East Midlands rated 'inadequate'
Probation services in the East Midlands have been given an overall rating of 'inadequate' after the latest inspection.
Probation services in the East Midlands region of the Probation Service have received an overall regional rating of ‘Inadequate’ by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation.
Martin Jones, Chief Inspector of Probation, said: “While we met staff and leaders who were dedicated to providing and improving services to people on probation, this was not translating into sufficient services to protect the public and support people on probation.”
The inspection came at a time of significant changes within the Probation Service, meaning the region, as with all other regions across England and Wales, had been required to deliver significant national policy changes at pace. This contributed to a widespread sense of staff feeling overwhelmed and fatigued by change across the region.
Reflecting findings across the wider Probation Service, inspectors found public protection across all probation delivery units (PDUs) in the region to be insufficient, with too many assessments being completed without reference to critical risk information. Regional oversight of work to keep other people safe had not been coordinated well enough to drive necessary improvement in frontline services.
Despite this, the report highlights some clear strengths in the East Midlands region.
Robust workforce planning was having an impact on staffing levels, which were beginning to improve and stabilise. In general, staff reported a positive and inclusive work culture, and wellbeing support, such as trauma risk management, was in place.
Victim liaison officers (VLOs) were also generally providing positive services for victims. In nearly all cases inspected, victims were given opportunities to contribute their views to inform decisions about a prisoner’s released and VLOs were proactive in sharing information about victims with probation practitioners to support their safety planning.
Mr Jones added: “Despite elements of innovative practice, and a dedicated, growing workforce, the findings in the East Midlands region are not atypical of the wider Probation Service, where we are finding consistently insufficient work in relation to public protection.
"I hope the region and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service HMPPS can build on our findings and recommendations to develop the region into one which supports people on probation and better protects the public.”
This report makes 11 recommendations. Seven of these are for the East Midlands probation region, including to improve the quality of court reports to inform sentencing and to work with sentencers to ensure that advice from probation court staff is obtained pre-sentence. Four recommendations are for HMPPS including to ensure sufficient resources are allocated to the region to enable effective and timely serious further offence reviews.